Inner Pride
by ilikeoctopus
Summary: Selim Bradley meets up with a strangely familiar face... his past self. Post-manga, oneshot.


**A/N: I just thought this would be fun to write; enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.**

Selim stood alone in the center of a small clearing surrounded by tall trees that cast their branches in strange patterns over his head. Faint, sickly moonlight filtered through them, casting eerie, shifting shadows across the leaf-littered ground. Hardly anything seemed to move even as a chilly wind whistled through the trees, and Selim shivered. He seemed to be standing in the middle of a large forest, but he couldn't be sure; he could barely see past the first few rows of trees stretching back from all sides of the clearing.

It was cold out, and Selim, always one of the smaller boys in stature, felt it keenly. His heart was beating quickly, and he watched his rapid breaths form clouds in the air in front of his face. Tugging his jacket around him tightly, he called out into the night, half-hoping that no one would answer him – anyone who hung around this sort of place was probably not your ordinary Amestrian.

The forest was silent, save for the wind continuing to hiss through the bare trees. Selim took a hesitant step forward, wondering how he had gotten to this strange and creepy place, and wishing for his warm bedroom and a cup of hot chocolate.

As soon as he placed his foot down, however, hundreds of thin shadows shot across the ground and snaked up his leg, quickly wrapping themselves around his body, but sparing his head. Strangely and scarily enough, the twisting tendrils rendered him completely immobile. Looking down, Selim opened his mouth, but in his horror, no sound came out except a small squeak of terror. _Mother… Anyone… Help me...!_

Suddenly, a slight crunching sound distracted him from his dark bindings. Selim gasped as his black eyes shot up to meet the dark purple eyes of… _himself_.

The other Selim stood at the same height as he did with an ugly smirk on his face; Selim also noticed with a slight shock that he did not have the circular marking on his forehead that he had had for as long as he could remember. Looking back down at his constraints, Selim shuddered when he noticed that they seemed to originate from the shadow of the newcomer.

"Who are yo-" Selim was cut short as the other boy laughed cruelly.

"Who am I? Who _am_ I?" The boy stepped closer with each word until he was practically breathing into Selim's face. "How kind of you to ask; how kind of you to drop by. I'll tell you who I am." He spoke each word quietly, but his voice now echoed metallically, in a ghostly way, as if he were trapped in a deep, deep well. "Now listen to this and remember it for eternity.

"I am Pride. The first, and now last, Homunculus."

Selim's eyes widened in horror, and he shook his head slowly. "No… It can't be… You're supposed to be gone… It's in all the history textbooks!" he added desperately.

Pride stepped yet nearer with a condescending sneer. "Ah, but they're wrong. How would _they_ know? Those stupid little humans deceiving and reassuring themselves that they were strong enough to destroy us." He threw his head back and laughed. "As if. Petty wishes, but, after all, they didn't know any better. You can't get rid of us that easily… Now then. To business."

The homunculus stepped back a bit and cocked his head to the side, looking at Selim thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he spoke again, his face expressing great distaste. "Human. As you might know, I need a container to be able to survive in the physical world."

Selim gasped in realization and started to struggle against his bonds with a renewed energy. "No… No! I wont let you!"

Pride smirked. "You will. Just think – if you join us, you'll be at the top of the pile, even greater than the top dogs of this country. You'll be even greater than…" and he leaned in, grinning maliciously, "the Fullmetal Alchemist of years past."

The young boy flinched at the homunculus's words, and his bonds drew tighter around him. Gasping for air, Selim choked out a single syllable. "Agh…" Pride had hit too close to home. Selim had always looked up to the famed young man who had been willing to give everything for his country; to be greater, better than him had been his dream for years. He wanted to prove himself.

His mirror image laughed mockingly. "That's right. That's your deepest desire, isn't it? Poor Selim, always looked down upon. Little Selim, never to be trusted. You've heard those rumors, those whispered tales before. Of what you were, what you had been. I'm here to tell you that they're _all true_."

Gaping at the homunculus, Selim couldn't help but think that _this_ was absolutely crazy… and yet ridiculously terrifying. He knew from the stories that Pride had been the most powerful and cunning of the homunculi besides the one called Father, but he had only ever heard the slightest whispers about who he had been.

The boy shook his head and glared at Pride furiously. "I'll never… you'll never drag me over to your side, even if the rumors are true! Your kind tried to kill every last Amestrian; this is my country and my home now, and you're not going to try that again while I'm around!" He took a deep breath and snarled, "I will have no allegiance with _you._"

The responding laugh echoed among the trees. "Brave words, human. But who said anything about Amestris?" A half-crazed glint appeared in the depths of Prides dark purple eyes. "I'm talking about _revenge_. Revenge on those meddlesome humans who destroyed centuries of tedious preparation, who need to be eliminated as such. Join me, and you will be honored. We, the homunculi, will rise again, and you will be next to me at the top! All you have to do is hand over your body, and you will be able to achieve your greatest dreams. Even your dream of making Amestris greater than it has ever been."

But Selim shook his head, still stubbornly defiant; his country's history was enough of a deterrent from all things homunculus. "Never."

Pride's expression hardened, and he looked at Selim disdainfully. "You'll be singing a different tune after you realize that you and I are one and the same. I'll be back, and I have all the time in the world. Now, farewell, Selim Bradley, and think hard about your final decision. We'll meet again in this world in your mind."

The homunculus whipped around and strode off into the gloomy tangle of trees, and as Selim stared, he seemed to dissolve into the darkness as his words echoed around the clearing. Selim's shadowy bonds dissipated, and the boy suddenly found that his legs had turned to jelly. Selim shook as he slumped to the ground, and cursed the homunculus, for playing his weaknesses and doubts about himself, for even _knowing_ them.

He pulled himself into a sitting position, and drew his knees to his chest. His pulse seemed to be steadying out into a more natural rhythm, and he breathed in and out slowly, reminding himself that he was all right, trying to compose himself.

Selim's head snapped up as he saw a flash of white appear from the corner of his eye. _No… Just as I thought that this couldn't get any weirder…._

It was a man, dressed in a smart white suit and hat, neither of which seemed to have the smallest speck of dust on it. Leaning against a tree near the edge of the clearing and partially cloaked in shadow, he appraised Selim with raised eyebrows, clearly sizing him up. Selim narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're not another homunculus, are you?"

The man sighed somewhat disgustedly. "How many people have to ask that before they realize that I'm not?" He then chuckled and tipped his hat to the young boy. "I'm Solf J. Kimblee. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Selim relaxed slightly, but remained wary; his eyes tracing every movement the newcomer made. And as he had thought earlier, any Amestrian wandering around in here was probably not completely sane. Hoarsely, he asked, "Why are you here?"

Kimblee stepped out from the darkness as a small gust of frigid wind made his meticulously neat ponytail flutter behind him. "Oh, I was just here to watch you two talk." He shrugged. "It wasn't as if I had much choice anyway; I'm stuck here with that _thing_, for now, and it was the most noteworthy event happening."

Backing away as the man stepped closer, Selim speculated if he should ask what had happened and what was going on, and why someone else besides Pride was in his head. By the tone of his voice, at least, Kimblee seemed to not be a supporter of the homunculi.

He stopped about ten feet away, looking as if he were thinking to himself as he watched Selim as warily as Selim was watching him. Selim wondered whether Pride had done something horrible to this man before he had been defeated to make him so distrustful of him, his lookalike.

Kimblee nodded suddenly, and a feral grin spread across his face. "Yes. This will be interesting. I will be waiting to see how this plays out, Selim Bradley!"

Selim woke up, groaning at the bright and cheerful sunlight filtering through his patterned drapes. Rubbing at his eyes, he stumbled out of bed to head downstairs for breakfast. As he padded across the hallway and down the stairs, the boy pondered his bizarre experience last night, arriving in the kitchen to find his mother sipping coffee at the table.

Mrs. Bradley smiled at her son as him as he came in, and handed him a plate of eggs and toast. "Good morning, Selim. Did you sleep well, dear?" she asked warmly.

Selim blinked, making a split second decision. He took a shaky breath and spoke.

"Good morning, mother. You won't believe the dream I had last night…"

**This author appreciates concrit, so R&R if you wish. Over and out.**


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